


Give a Little Bit

by FluffyHeretic



Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: Gen, Hatoful Boyfriend Ship Week 2018, M/M, its still on time in my time zone though! barely, oof this is cutting it close, prompt fill: sunset/sunrise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 07:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15967871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyHeretic/pseuds/FluffyHeretic
Summary: Everything is changing, and doubt hangs heavy in the air as to whether things will work out. But sometimes even the smallest things can lift the haze, even if only a little.





	Give a Little Bit

“So, uh, this is your room, I guess.”

It was completely barren except for a futon in the middle of the floor. No other furniture was present, and certainly not any decoration.

Shuu stepped in and placed his bags on the floor, looking around. “... Huh.”

Yuuya leaned on the doorframe. “We’ll go to IKEA tomorrow or something. Or whenever we have time, I don’t know. You’ll live until then, right?”

“I suppose so.” Shuu wasn’t a person who felt that he needed much as far as material comforts went, but this much (or little, rather) was a little shocking even to him. Still, he’d be able to survive.

There was a tense moment where neither of them moved or said anything. Neither felt like they knew what to do with themselves. Everything about this situation was so… awkward, and there was still a lot of doubt from everyone involved if it was really a good idea.

Personally, Shuu was in this situation because he didn’t really have much other choice. Everything had gone wrong, he had hit a brick wall in life, and his only two options were to adapt or die. Dying sounded perfectly fine to be honest, but he had figured he might as well give the former option a shot first. Just in case.

What was surprising him the most so far was how much people were going along with it. Being a very intelligent and very dedicated worker definitely seemed to have its perks. Being completely despised and distrusted was a little bit of a setback, but not exactly unexpected.

Shuu dug his laptop out of one of his bags and plugged it into an outlet before settling cross-legged on the futon with it on his lap. It certainly wasn’t as comfortable as a desk, but it was the best he had at the moment, so it’d have to do. “Well, I’m, uh… I’m going to get some work done.”

Yuuya lingered in the doorway for a moment longer. “Alright. I’ll figure out dinner or something.” Then he stepped away, closing the door and leaving Shuu to his work.

With all that was going on, it was difficult to concentrate on productivity. And frankly, Shuu didn’t have a lot to do at the moment anyway. He certainly wasn’t trusted enough yet to be given any serious workload, and what he did have was underwhelming. He knew (or at least hoped) that would improve soon enough, but right now… well.

When Yuuya came back to offer him dinner, Shuu declined. He had difficulties with his appetite to begin with, and the uncomfortable atmosphere wasn’t helping any. So he pretty much gave up, showered, and went to bed early. That was highly unusual for him, but so was everything else about this, and quite frankly? He really just needed to pass out for a while.

 

When Shuu woke up, it was still dark. And more importantly, he was shivering like a madman. He pulled out his phone to check the time: almost five in the morning. Damn.

It wasn’t a mystery why he had woken up so early. Going to bed earlier than usual probably contributed, sure, but the more pressing matter to him was that he was _cold._ The temperature had dropped unexpectedly low during the night and his one thin blanket was not doing much to help. He cursed his awful eating habits, knowing his poor nutrition wasn’t doing him any favors either.

There surely must have been a spare blanket or two somewhere in the apartment, right? So he begrudgingly pulled himself to his feet and set about looking, rubbing his eyes and yawning the whole way. He felt like death.

The sight that greeted him when he left his room was unexpected. Yuuya was sitting at the small dining table, casually munching on a brownie. He was in a thick sweater, and when he saw Shuu, he nodded and said, “Cold woke you up too, huh?” He tilted his head to his dessert and said by way of explanation, “Figured I’d have a midnight snack while I was up.”

Shuu gave a small nod. “Are there extra blankets?”

“Closet.”

Sure enough, a spare blanket was rolled up in the closet, and it looked thick and warm too. Shuu already felt the cold seeping away just by carrying it.

When he came by the table again, he glanced at the brownies and felt his stomach rumble. He _did_ miss dinner, and those _did_ look good, but… well, he wasn’t sure if Yuuya was interested in sharing, and it would be awkward to ask.

Everything was _so_ awkward.

But Yuuya seemed to notice, and said, “There’s more on the counter. Help yourself.”

Considering their strained relationship (and that was putting it nicely), Shuu was perfectly aware that Yuuya was being much kinder to him than he needed to be. Maybe it was just because it was so early in the morning that he didn’t have the energy for antagonization, but it was appreciated nonetheless.

So Shuu gave him a polite “Thank you very much,” because it was the least he could do, and well, he _was_ grateful. Besides, Shuu was a person who had spoken formally his entire life, and he didn’t see himself stopping now.

… Still, it was weird to talk to each other like that. It was going to continue being weird for a while, as with everything else.

He found the brownies on the counter as promised. Still warm, too. Shuu wondered what must have been going through Yuuya’s mind to spur him into such an off-the-cuff decision as to bake brownies before five o’clock, but hey, he wasn’t about to complain.

Normally he would have preferred to eat in the privacy of his room, on a desk, but… Well, he didn’t have a desk yet, so that wasn’t an option. He didn’t really feel like risking getting brownie crumbs all over his carpet, and he was already sick of sitting on the floor.

Sitting at the table meant sitting next to Yuuya though, and Shuu wasn’t even sure if the dove would allow that. But… might as well try?

So he took his plate and a glass of ice water, the blanket slung over his shoulder, and brought them to the table. He chose the chair furthest from Yuuya, but considering how small the table was, that didn’t exactly mean much. Every movement he made felt tense, like he was doing something wrong, and he could feel Yuuya’s gaze trained on him the entire time.

Iwamine Shuu was not used to feeling this self-conscious, and it sucked. A lot. At least Yuuya wasn’t giving him shit at the moment. Small victories?

He wrapped his blanket around himself for warmth before nibbling the brownie mildly. Despite the fact that he was genuinely hungry, he wasn’t used to eating much, so he was inclined to take his time in hopes of actually being able to get the whole thing down. He avoided looking at Yuuya, wanting to elude the intense spike in discomfort that might result from that.

Yuuya had already finished, and continued to sit at the table, leaned back in his chair with one leg over the other, foot swinging idly. Shuu wondered whether he was still up because he felt like he needed to be up with Shuu out of distrust, or was too awake to go back to bed, or just enjoying the morning atmosphere, or what.

It didn’t really matter anyway, did it?

Suddenly Yuuya’s gaze became fixed on something, and he sat up a little. “Hey. Look.”

Shuu followed his gaze out the window. “... Ah. The sunrise.” He had been awake during sunrise far more than his fair share of times just on account of how many all-nighters he tended to pull. He was usually too enraptured in work to notice it, though, so there was still a novelty in actually seeing it.

“It’s pretty, right?” Yuuya murmured.

Shuu kept looking and, after a moment of thought, hummed his agreement.

Everything was still and quiet in the apartment, both men - enemies turned begrudging allies - silently observing the sun peeking its way above the horizon and beginning its ascent. The colors of the sky in the early morning light were entrancing in a way even Shuu could find it in himself to appreciate.

“Do you really think this is going to work?” Shuu said. The question had been hanging over him this entire time, and he had suddenly decided that he just couldn’t not say it. This seemed like as good a time as any.

Yuuya let out a small sigh. “That depends on you and the Doves who are allowing this. The simple truth is, despite everything, you’re useful to us. So keep being useful and don’t cause any trouble and…” He shrugged. “... it should, hopefully, just… work out, I guess?”

“That’s the plan, sure,” Shuu said. He finally looked at Yuuya, because he felt like he needed at least a small ounce of sincerity in this moment. He hadn’t felt this unsure of himself in a very long time. “But do _you_ actually believe it will?”

Yuuya blinked at Shuu. Then he looked down and back out the window, twisting his mouth contemplatively. “Part of why I offered to be the one watching you was just because I felt bad making someone else do it. I already have experience in putting up with your shit, you know? But I also think… I think I wouldn’t have bothered if there wasn’t some part of me that… wants to see it happen, I guess?”

Their gazes met and Yuuya continued, “I… I want this to work. Genuinely. I’m not going to lie to you, I am definitely keeping my expectations in check. But I’m tired of all the awfulness. If something good actually does come out of his somehow… I’d like to see that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So yeah, like, if you’re gonna take this seriously and really commit… I’ll believe you. Extremely tentatively, but still.”

Shuu didn’t respond right away. Despite having plenty of reason not to, Yuuya had decided to have faith, even if it was just a miniscule amount. Just being here right now was way more than could have been asked of him, but he was doing it. Shuu didn’t know what to say to that. He was feeling pesky emotions fluttering around in his chest, most of which he didn’t even understand, but at least one of them was definitely relief.

Everything felt a little less tense all of a sudden. Less awkward. In the soft light peeking in through the window, he was even inclined to feel a tiny bit hopeful.

“Thank you,” he said, finally. “I’ll… I’ll do my best.”

Yuuya kept looking at him for a moment before finally getting up from the table, taking his plate with him to take care of. Shuu barely caught a glimpse of a small grin on the dove’s face as he turned away towards the kitchen. “You know what? I don’t doubt it, actually. Iwamine Shuu isn’t a man who half-asses anything, right?”

Left there alone with his thoughts, Shuu decided that this might just work out after all.

**Author's Note:**

> this is for a very self-indulgent au (or post-bbl scenario, rather) that i've had for a while. in case you didn't infer it from the fic, the basic premise is that shuu has defected to the doves, and yuuya's been tasked with keeping an eye on him. my personal ideal is that they gradually get used to it and shuu manages to turn his shit around and maybe someday (very gradually, over a long length of time, with a lot of effort on everyone's part) theyll even learn to get along. which is definitely a tall order, but hey, thatll just make it all the more meaningful
> 
> .......................... look, im at the point in my hato career where what i want more than anything is just for these birds to be happy Somehow, Some Way and by god im going to force it into being if its the last thing i do lmao


End file.
